HIRIS — Eos instrument with high spectral and spatial resolution

Abstract

The High-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS) is a JPL-facility instrument designed for NASA's Earth Observing System (Eos). It will have 10-nm wide spectral bands from 0.4 to 2.5 μm at 30-m spatial resolution over a 24-km swath. The spectral resolution allows identification of many minerals in rocks and soils, important algal pigments in oceans and inland waters, spectral changes associated with plant canopy biochemistry, composition of atmospheric aerosols, and grain size of snow and its contamination by absorbing impurities. The bands will have 12-bit quantization over a dynamic range suitable for bright targets, such as snow. For targets of low brightness, such as water bodies, image-motion compensation will allow gains up to a factor of 8 to increase signal-to-noise ratios. The sensor will be able to point ±26° crosstrack and +52°/−30° downtrack. In the 705-km orbit altitude proposed for Eos, the crosstrack pointing capability will allow 3–4 views during a 16-day revisit cycle.